F1 2021: The numbers behind the results as Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris star

The 11 races of the Formula 1 2021 season so far have delivered incredible drama, four winners, and a gripping championship battle.

But what are the key numbers ahead of the season's resumption this weekend?

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We look at some of the statistics - which paint an interesting picture considering Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes' new title leads...

Races

Max Verstappen and Hamilton have shared nine of the 11 victories so far, and it is the Red Bull driver who has the slight edge in that category.

There's a very valid argument that the two drivers should have all 11 between them, with Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon's triumphs after a tyre blow-up for Verstappen (Azerbaijan) and a pit-stop mix-up for Hamilton (Hungary).

Red Bull, aided by those five straight wins from Monaco through to Austria, have more wins than Mercedes, with Valtteri Bottas, somewhat surprisingly, yet to break his 2021 duck.

He has, however, notched far more podiums than Perez in the Red Bull, with Lando Norris also ahead. Verstappen and Hamilton have eight apiece, highlighting just how evenly matched they have been.

One category there is not a close battle in, however, is the laps led charts. Verstappen has led a whopping 275 laps more than Hamilton, who on average has led only a little over 10 laps per race this year.

Which is certainly not like him!

Why, then, are Verstappen and Red Bull now just behind Hamilton and Mercedes in the standings?

Put simply, while notching more wins, Verstappen has had more costly afternoons than Hamilton. Verstappen has had two races outside the points (Azerbaijan and Silverstone) to Hamilton's one (Azerbaijan), while his unlucky ninth-placed finish at the last race in Hungary ultimately dropped him from the title lead.

McLaren's Norris, enjoying a superb season, is right at the top of the top-10 finishes chart with Hamilton. He was actually on an epic 15-race points scoring streak before the last race in Hungary, where he was taken out on the first lap.

Qualifying

Verstappen and Hamilton are also neck and neck when it comes to qualifying, although the Red Bull driver does actually have one more official 'pole position' than Hamilton. That was at the British GP, where Hamilton was fastest in the official qualifying session (which we have used for our numbers), while Verstappen won the debut F1 Sprint and thus claimed 'pole' for Sunday's race.

Charles Leclerc claimed two brilliant poles for Ferrari earlier this year in Monaco (though he didn't start the race after his crash) and Azerbaijan, while Bottas was on pole back at the third round in Portugal.

In terms of the qualifying head-to-heads, a number of drivers (namely Verstappen, Mick Schumacher, Antonio Giovinazzi, Norris, Leclerc and Hamilton) hold very impressive leads, while Pierre Gasly and George Russell are both undefeated against their respective team-mates this season.